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| United States Patent |
5,190,351
|
|
Klumpjan
|
March 2, 1993
|
Wheelbarrow for transporting rocks and stones
Abstract
A wheelbarrow has an enlarged wheel and a low center of gravity for
transporting heavy loads. The enlarged wheel and low center of gravity
increases the stability of the wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow includes a
payload bucket which is tiltable for dumping the payload. The bucket is
mounted such that the dumping operation is behind the wheel of the
wheelbarrow, whereby the dumping operation can be completed without
substantially altering the center of gravity of the wheelbarrow, further
enhancing the stability of the wheelbarrow when transporting heavy loads.
The wheelbarrow bucket includes an arcuate or C-shaped bottom facilitating
the dumping operation.
| Inventors:
|
Klumpjan; Joe (1334 Sunset Dr. Rte. 3, Campbellsport, WI 53010)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
825881 |
| Filed:
|
January 27, 1992 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
298/3; 280/47.31; D34/16 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B62B 001/24 |
| Field of Search: |
280/47.31,47.33,47.23
298/2,3
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 48101 | Jun., 1865 | Sanford | 298/3.
|
| 480670 | Aug., 1892 | Radley et al. | 298/2.
|
| 642569 | Feb., 1900 | Baklund | 280/47.
|
| 817677 | Apr., 1906 | Smith | 280/47.
|
| 845207 | Feb., 1907 | Tripp | 280/47.
|
| 868462 | Oct., 1907 | Lorenzi | 280/47.
|
| 1232387 | Jul., 1917 | Parker | 298/3.
|
| 1305106 | May., 1919 | Hofer | 280/47.
|
| 1479223 | Jan., 1924 | Carroll | 280/47.
|
| 1544769 | Jul., 1925 | Nalder | 298/3.
|
| 1754835 | Apr., 1930 | Newton | 298/2.
|
| 2234879 | Mar., 1941 | Shoesmith | 298/3.
|
| 2608360 | Aug., 1952 | Cootware | 280/47.
|
| 2852304 | Sep., 1958 | Harrison | 298/3.
|
| 2889152 | Jun., 1959 | Hurst et al. | 280/47.
|
| 3092418 | Jun., 1963 | Themascus | 298/3.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 537556 | May., 1955 | BE | 298/2.
|
| 436020 | Oct., 1935 | GB | 298/3.
|
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; David M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall
Claims
I claim:
1. A wheelbarrow for transporting rocks and stones, comprising:
a. a frame having two elongated, spaced side rails, each with opposite
ends, one end of each rail defining a handle and the other end of each
rail defining a forward axle support, and at least one cross brace
spanning the spaced side rails and securing them in rigid assembly;
b. an axle mounted in the axle supports;
c. a wheel mounted on said axle for rotation relative to said frame,
wherein the wheel is of a minimum diameter of 30 inches;
d. a pair of mounting brackets, one each mounted on each side rail
intermediately of the opposite ends;
e. a box having a semicylindrical closed bottom, upstanding side walls
having a C-shaped bottom edge and an open top, said box including a pair
of axially aligned pivot posts extending from said side walls forwardly of
the axis of said semicylindrical bottom to position the center of gravity
of said box rearwardly of the axis of said pivot posts, each post adapted
to be removably received in one of said brackets for tiltably supporting
the box relative to said frame, whereby the box is movable between an
upwardly opening filling position with the forward edge of the open top
positioned rearwardly of the wheel and a dump position in which the
contents of the box are discharged to the rear of the wheel, and wherein
said cross brace defines a support for holding the box in the filling
position; and
f. a support secured to and extending downwardly from said frame between
the handles and the box for supporting the frame and the box above the
ground.
2. The wheelbarrow of claim 1 further including a handle mounted on the
continuous member adjacent one end and adapted for engaging the
cross-brace when the box is in the normal position.
3. The wheelbarrow of claim 2, wherein the side rails are substantially
parallel and the side walls of the box are substantially parallel to the
side rails, each mounting bracket further including a substantially
U-shaped channel with an open upper end and wherein each post is of
cylindrical cross-section, whereby the post may be rotated relative to the
base for moving the box from the normal position to the dump position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally related to wheelbarrows and is specifically
directed to a wheelbarrow for transporting rocks and stones.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheelbarrows are well known. However, the wheelbarrows of the prior art are
generally designed for general purpose use such as, by way of example, the
wheelbarrow disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 868,462 issued to L. Lorenzi on
Oct. 15, 1907. There have also been a number of wheelbarrows designed for
specific use such as the wheelbarrow of U.S. Pat. No. 642,569 issued to G.
Baklund on Feb. 6, 1900. The Baklund wheelbarrow is specifically designed
to carry milk cans and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,479,223 issued to G. Carroll on Jan. 1, 1924 also discloses
a wheelbarrow specifically designed for carrying cans but adaptable for
general purpose use as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 845,207 issued to C. Tripp on Feb. 26, 1907 discloses a
wheelbarrow adapted for carrying unusually large and heavy objects wherein
the object such as a barrel is self-leveling and the wheelbarrow has an
enlarged wheel to provide better stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,835 issued to H. B. Newton on Apr. 15, 1930 also
discloses a large wheeled wheelbarrow for better distribution of weight
when hauling heavy objects.
It is also known to provide dumping wheel barrows as shown, for example, in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,544,769 issued to G. Nalder on Jul. 7, 1925; 2,234,879
issued to H. Shoesmith on Mar. 11, 1941; 2,852,304 issued to L. E.
Harrison on Sep. 16, 1958; and 3,092,418 issued to J. Themascus on Jun. 4,
1963. One of the problems with each of the dumping wheelbarrows of the
prior art is the weight is generally distributed above and in substantial
vertical alignment with the axis of the wheel, making the wheelbarrow
unstable when carrying heavy loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,232,387 issued to I. Parker on Jul. 3, 1917 discloses a
self-leveling wheelbarrow having a pivotable bucket. However, there is not
sufficient clearance between the wheelbarrow and the wheel or other frame
members to provide for dumping.
None of the wheelbarrows of the prior art are specifically directed to a
transportation device for picking and hauling small stones and rocks from
fields which are to be tilled for growing crops. In many regions of the
country such as, by way of example, northern New England and Wisconsin and
other areas where prehistoric glacier movements deposited large amounts of
rubble just beneath the surface and the top soil, small rocks and stones
surface with each spring thaw. This provides a continuing problem when
preparing fields for planting at the beginning of each growing season.
Typically, the rocks and stones must be physically and manually removed
from the field before tilling in order to minimize damage to plow shares
and the like. Even with the development of modern mechanized equipment for
preparing fields, rock and stone removal still remains a substantially
manual operation. Often this is accomplished by manually taking a
wheelbarrow and a rock fork to the field and physically placing the rocks
and stones in the wheelbarrow for transportation to a dump site. However,
heretofore there have been no wheelbarrows specifically designed for this
purpose. The wheelbarrows are either unstable under heavy load, difficult
to manipulate, or are not well designed for the heavy loads and weight
distribution generated during the rock picking activity. This requires
that the wheelbarrow be used to carry lighter loads, increasing the number
of trips and the amount of labor and time required to complete the task.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is specifically directed to a wheelbarrow for picking
and removing rocks from tillable fields. The wheelbarrow has a
substantially oversized wheel supported on a sturdy frame. The payload
bucket is supported on a plane substantially horizontal to the axis of the
wheel and is adapted to be pivoted or tilted behind the wheel for dumping
the rocks without disturbing the stability of the wheelbarrow. In the
preferred embodiment of the invention, the bucket may be removed from the
frame by lifting it out of the support channels. The handle for tilting
the bucket also serves as the primary support member for supporting the
bucket in a normally open, upright position during use. The axle, pivot
bucket supports and handles are on a common line, minimizing back strain
when lifting large loads.
The wheelbarrow has been found to be particularly well suited for removing
rocks and stones from tillable fields. The enlarged wheel provides easy
manipulation of the wheelbarrow and increases stability. The low center of
gravity of the load increases stability and maneuverability of the
wheelbarrow for this task. The low, in-line handles permit easy handling
of substantially heavy loads with a minimum of back strain.
It is, therefore, an object and feature of the subject invention to provide
for a wheelbarrow which is specifically designed for removing rocks and
stones from tillable fields.
It is also an object and feature of the subject invention to provide for a
wheelbarrow with a low center of gravity to provide stability in handling
heavy loads.
It is a further object and feature of the subject invention to provide for
a tiltable wheelbarrow wherein the payload is supported below the axle of
the wheel, increasing stability of the wheelbarrow when transporting a
heavy payload.
Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from
the accompanying drawings and detailed description of the preferred
embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheelbarrow made in accordance with the
subject invention.
FIG. 2 is a section view of the wheelbarrow taken generally along the line
2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a section view of the wheelbarrow taken generally along the line
3--3 of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENT
The wheelbarrow of the subject invention is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a
rigid frame 10 made of wood, steel, or other suitable material. In the
preferred embodiment, the frame 10 includes two enlongated side rails 12
and 14 having an axis support such as the brackets 16, 18 at one end of
the respective side rails 12, 14 and terminating in handles 20, 22 at the
opposite end of respective side rails 12, 14. An axle 24 is supported
between the brackets 16 and 18 for rotatably supporting the hubbed wheel
26. A cross brace 28 secures the side rails 12 and 14 in spaced apart
relationship. In the preferred embodiment, a pair of angle brackets 30 and
32 are provided and are suitably secured to the respective side rails 12
and 14 and to the cross brace 28 to increase rigidity of the construction.
Also, a second cross brace 34 may be provided just behind the wheel 26 to
further increase rigidity of the assembly. In the preferred embodiment,
the support legs 36 and 38 are mounted between the cross brace 28 and the
respective side rails 12 and 14. An angle bracket 40 may be attached to
each leg 36, 38 and to the respective side rail 12, 14 to further increase
the rigidity of the assembly.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a pair of support brackets 42
and 44 are secured, one each, to the respective side rails 12 and 14. As
is best shown in FIG. 2, each support bracket includes a pair of outer
base plates 43 and 44 which are secured directly to the respective side
rail. The center panel of the bracket includes a raised or spaced plate 45
(see FIG. 3) which includes a U-shaped channel 46. The bucket 50 of the
wheelbarrow includes a pair of outer side walls 52 and 54. In the
preferred embodiment, the side walls have an arcuate lower edge and a
continuous, rounded bottom wall 56 as suitably secured thereto to make an
arcuate bucket. Each side wall 52, 54 of the bucket includes a projecting
mounting post 58 projecting outwardly from the side wall and having a
smooth cylindrical surface adapted to be received in the U-shaped channel
46 of the respective mounting bracket 42, 44 on the side rails 12, 14.
Each mounting post 58 includes an enlarged outer head 60 to assure that
the bucket does not inadvertently slip from the mounting brackets. A
handle 62 is secured to the rear edge of the bucket 50 and extends toward
the wheelbarrow handles 20 and 22. The handle 62 facilitates in dumping or
tilting the bucket, as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2 and also provides
the stop or support member for supporting the bucket in its normal
position, by resting on the cross brace 28.
In the preferred embodiment, the wheel 26 of the wheel barrow is
approximately 30 inches in diameter, greatly increasing the stability of
the wheelbarrow over the prior art, particularly when carrying
substantially heavy loads such as rocks and stones. Also, as can be seen
in FIG. 2, the bucket 50 can be moved to the dump position without
substantially altering the center of gravity of the load, further
increasing the stability of the wheel barrow during a stone picking and
removal operation. In addition, where desired, the bucket may be removed
from the frame of the wheelbarrow by simply lifting the bucket and sliding
the posts 58 upwardly in the U-shaped channels on the mounting brackets
42, 44. The arcuate bottom 56 of the bucket greatly facilitates in a
dumping operation by permitting the stones to roll or slide out of the
bucket without substantially altering the center of gravity during the
dumping operation.
The wheelbarrow of the present invention is ideally suited for carrying
heavy payloads and is particularly well suited for removing rocks and
stones from tillable fields. While specific objects and features of the
subject invention have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be readily
understood that the invention encompasses all modifications and
enhancements within the scope and spirit of the following claims.
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